Maybe, Someday, We'll Figure All This Out
by angelatimelow
Summary: Tayler Eakins and Alex Gaskarth never got along. That is, until senior year, when suddenly one run-in in the hallway changes the way they look at each other. Has Alex really changed? What is the secret from last summer Tayler is trying so hard to hide?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

I was tired, sick, and stressed when I woke up for the first day of school. It was senior year at Dulaney High, and I was already ready for it to be over. I was done with the people, the teachers, and the awful school lunches.

"Rise and shine, little sister!" my 18 year old sister Kayla shouted, jumping on my bed repeatedly. I groggily shoved myself up from under the covers and glared at her. She gasped and ran out of the room, laughing. I threw the covers off of me and swung my legs over the bed and onto the ground. My toes hit the hardwood oak floor and my feet inched towards my slippers. I put them on and shoved myself up, my pink plaid pajama pants that were a bit too long falling over my ankles. I stretched and let my long brown hair down from its ponytail it'd been in all night. I yawned and walked to my closet, opening the doors and staring at my countless band T-shirts, V-necks, camisoles, skinny jeans, shorts, and skirts. I pulled a purple long sleeved V-neck and lilac camisole off of a hanger and paired it with some white short shorts. I exchanged my slippers for Vans and laced them up, heading downstairs for breakfast. My mom was in the kitchen, slaving away at making the perfect first-day meal like she did every year. Kayla walked in, sitting down next to me at the counter.

"Morning Kayla, morning Tayler." my mother nodded to each of us as she flipped pancakes. "Sleep good?" "Like a dream-" Kayla gushed.

"Like shit." I said at the same time. My father walked in as I said that and he chuckled.

"Watch your mouth, Tayler." he said, pulling my hair lightly. I swatted his hand away jokingly. We all sat down to breakfast, me and my father eating like pigs. I would always get along with my dad way better than my mom. It was the exact same with Kayla and Mom. They were two peas in a pod.

After breakfast, I climbed upstairs and into the bathroom, curling my long brown hair into luscious locks. I applied some thin eyeliner and mascara. And then I was done.

Year four, Dulaney High, here I come.

I walked downstairs to see Kayla had already left with her best friend, leaving me the car. I grabbed the keys, my backpack, and a sweater just in case. I hugged my dad and kissed my mom, and headed off. I walked out of the house and down my driveway and unlocked my car. I tossed my bag into the passenger seat and slid my sweater on.

"Tayler Noel Eakins." I heard. "My my, I thought you would've given up on Dulaney by now." I knew that voice anywhere. I mustered up my best 'bitch, please' face and turned to meet a boy I hated seeing every single year.

"Alexander William Gaskarth." I grinned sarcastically. "I'm not a quitter."

He smiled, the right corner of his mouth curling higher than the other. His light brown and blonde hair was cut to swoop left, with some still hanging down. His dark chocolate brown eyes studied my light green ones. Mine were full of disgust, his were full of curiosity. I hadn't liked Alex Gaskarth since we were little. He'd live next door to me for as long as I could remember. His best friend Jack Barakat and I were okay, but I couldn't be around Alex without getting pissed every two minutes. He drove me insane; mainly because he was such a prick to girls. Oh, and because of that one time in 8th grade when we played spin the bottle at Jack's house, Alex landed on me, and we had to make out in the closet for 10 minutes, and he stuck his tongue down my throat and his hands in my butt pockets. IN 8TH GRADE.

"Need a ride?" he grinned. I rolled my eyes and pointed to my car.

"Thanks but no thanks, Gaskarth." I hissed, opening my car door and getting in. He laughed and walked back to his house. I started the car and started driving off to school.

I pulled into the parking lot and gathered my stuff. I got out of the car and slammed the door shut, locking it as I walked away. A car blew past me, almost hitting me. I scoffed when the door opened, Blink 182 was blasting from the stereo, and Alex stepped out. Go figure. He would try to run my ass over. Prick.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder and walked across the lot to the campus. As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk of the school I groaned. I hated this place. Alex was right. I was surprised I hadnt quit on this place and moved schools.

I stopped at my locker and put in the combination I'd had for so many years. My fingers glided over the knob and I yanked the old, rusty locker open. I looked inside it, smiling at the posters, sticky notes, and stickers scattered about it. The mirror I had placed in it suddenly had more than my face reflecting in it. I turned and smiled at the skunk haired, brown eyed boy standing behind me.

"Hi, Jack." I laughed, giving him a big hug.

"Tayler! How the hell are ya?" he grinned his goofy grin and released me.

I shrugged. "could be better." I said. "I'd rather not be here another year but what can you do, ya know?"

He laughed. "Fair enough." He nodded to the parking lot. "I saw you almost get killed over there. I assumed you and Alex reunited?"

I groaned. "unfortunately." Jack sighed.

"You shouldn't be so harsh to him. He's not as bad as he seems."

I rolled my eyes. "Puh-lease. He's a man whore and he tries to run me over with his cars. He's pretty fucking bad!" I motioned to the parking lot.

Jack cracked a smile. "I'll see you around, Tayler." he said, giving me another hug. He left, and I shut my locker, meeting up with my girlfriends Stacy and Brittany. We talked a bit before the bell rang, and I headed off to the first of my four ninety minute classes, Advanced College Algebra. No sign of Alex or Jack in this class. I loved math, strangely. I loved it because there was only one answer; never multiple ways to configure things. You could go about it different ways but you always got the same answer.

My second hour class was English IV. I walked into the room, immediately seeing Alex. I rolled my eyes and took a seat rather far from him. But Alex was Alex, so he moved seats to sit right next to me.

"You couldn't stay over there, could you?" I complained. He laughed sarcastically.

"Please. Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't about to sit next to Calvin. He's gross as fuck." Alex said, shuddering.

I chuckled. "I hear he has dandruff."

Alex's eyes widened. "It's true. It's gross as hell dude! It's not even funny!" he said, panicked. I laughed.

"I guess I can't disagree with you there." I said, smiling.

Maybe Gaskarth wasn't all bad, like Jack said?

"Plus over here, I can see Brittany's ass a little bit better." he grinned at Brittany, who spun around in her chair and shot daggers at him with her eyes.

Nope. Alex was pretty much all bad.

I scoffed and looked away, scooting as far as my chair would let me.

In the middle of class, he leaned over and rested his hand on the back of my chair and yanked me closer. Alex leaned in and whispered in my ear. "You look like you don't wanna sit by my. Come on. I'm not gonna bite."

"No, you're not." I seethed back. "But I am afraid you're gonna stick your tongue down my throat and maybe your hands in my pants." I rolled my eyes and locked eyes with Alex when they got high enough. He was shaking with silent laughter.

"I'd only do that if you asked. Which you eventually will." he chuckled, removing his hand from my chair and focussing on the teacher again. I slammed my face down on the desk, and I kept it there the rest of the hour.

The bell rang and I jumped up, eager to be away from Alex. He flung up as soon as I did and we both sprinted to the door, awkwardly shoulder bumping as we slid through it. I turned to go left as he turned to go right and we ran right into each other.

My chest was to his and my arms hung straight down. Our eyes met, but for the first time in five years since the 8th grade incident, it wasn't because he'd said something to offend me or so I could tell him he was an asshole. It was just an accident, and it was hard to look away. But he didn't look away either, which blew my mind.

"I need to get to my 3rd hour..." I murmured. Alex nodded, walking around me, maintaining eye contact for as long as possible.

I shook my head and began to walk to my 3rd hour class-Chemistry. I opened the door to see my old as dirt teacher lecturing some kid. I looked around and saw Jack. He jumped up and stood on his stool.

"TAYLER! TAYLERTAYLERTAYLER! sit next to me so I won't fail this class!" he shouted. I laughed and took the seat next to him and he sat back down. He leaned over and hugged me. "How's your first day so far?"

I leaned back and thought about it. Do I count the Alex incident as making the day decent? Or as some freak accident never to mention again?

"It's the first day.." I trailed off. Jack chuckled and nodded, knowing where I was coming from.

We sat in silence for the rest of the hour. The only time I became interested in Jacks antics was when he received a text and glanced up at me quickly, then pounding the keys on his phone violently. Was he texting about me? And to who? I leaned slightly, trying to see, but Jack put his phone in his pocket, unaware I was trying to get a glimpse of the number.

The bell rang, and it was time for lunch. I walked with Jack, who was telling me about his band with Alex and two other guys; Rian Dawson and Zack Merrick. Zack went to a different school, but Rian would be eating lunch with us. Well, with them. I wouldn't be dining with Alex Gaskarth, that's for sure. I got my food and went to go sit with Stacy and Brittany, but I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I spun quickly to see Alex. He put his hands up in defense.

"Relax, Tayler. I just wanted to get your attention. Sit with us?" he asked.

"There's a hundred ways to get my attention, Alex. Wrapping your arms around my waist like I'm one of your sluts is not one of them. No, I will not sit with you." I glowered, pivoting to walk away. He reached out and grabbed my wrist, making me stop. He took my tray of food out of my hand and set it down on the table.

Then he pulled me close and kissed me.

I yanked back and slapped him across the face.

"Oh whatever, Tayler! That in the hallway, you know you felt it too! I could see it!" he shouted, rubbing his cheek I'd hit. Everyone was staring now.

"That meant nothing! We happened to run into each other! NOTHING!" I challenged. But I was lying. It had felt like something.

"Well you didn't ask me to move, and you sure as hell didnt try to break the eye contact!" he defended. I rolled my eyes.

"Fuck you, Alex. Fuck you." I said.

"You know you want to. When and where, babe?" he narrowed his eyes. I spun my head and glared at him. I reached into my pile of food and pulled out a sandwich. I chucked it at him and it hit him square in the face.

"FUCK YOU!" I yelled. Alex scraped the bread off of his cheek and watched it awkwardly as it fell to the ground.

"You bitch." he glowered. He grabbed a soda off of the table and threw it at me. The cola went all down my shirt front and in my hair. I was fuming.

I looked down at the soda then back up at Alex. I sprinted full speed at him and jumped on his chest. He fell over from the sudden weight and I went down with him. I sat on his stomach, hitting him in the chest repeatedly. He pushed me off him and stood, grabbing me and flinging me over his shoulder. He then dropped me on the salad bar, lettuce and dressings covering me.

He turned and laughed, walking back to his table and thinking he'd won.

I righted myself and jumped on his back, yanking on his hair. He gripped onto my legs so that if he went down, I went down with him.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH GET OFF ME!" Alex yelled, laying back onto the table so that I was trapped between him and the wooden table. I squirmed but it was hopeless. I wasn't going anywhere.

Jack pulled Alex off and Rian grabbed me as soon as Alex's weight wasn't holding me down. We were now both being held from opposite sides of the table. I kicked and fought.

"I HATE YOU ALEX GASKARTH!" I screamed.

And I really did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I kinda like the little rush you get when you're standing close to death...like when you're driving me crazy." -After Midnight by Blink 182

I sat in the hallway outside the principal's office, covered in food from Alex and I's fight in the lunchroom an hour ago. Alex sat across the hall from me, leaning over with his elbows on his knees as he stared at me like I was the devil.

"I hate you for this, Tayler." Alex complained. I scoffed and crossed my arms.

"Shut the hell up. You started it." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"How old ARE you? Twelve?" he hissed, still shooting daggers at me with his eyes.

"That's hilarious coming from you." I seethed.

He leaned back and sighed. "I might be immature, but I didn't start the damn fight. You threw a tuna sandwich at me. I reek of fish."

I bit my lip and tried to hold in a laugh. Alex looked at me and smiled lightly, also trying to fight the outburst. "But you kissed me." I said. "That's what actually started it." I chuckled.

Alex's face became serious again. Nice. I blew any chance we had at bonding. "You know you loved it." He said, turning away. I didn't reply because deep down, I knew it was true. Over the years of denying it, I had developed feelings for Alex somewhere in my heart. Did that moment in the hallway really spark his interest? Or did I just misread the signs and he was actually just trying to get laid? Most likely the second one.

The principal opened the door and sighed. "You two? I should've known you two would lose it eventually. You're always at each others throats. I want to let you go home, but...that cafeteria is a mess." She threw two mops and buckets at us. "You know what to do. Get to work."

I stood and grabbed my supplies. Alex unwillingly did the same and followed me to the lunchroom. I looked around and couldn't believe we'd made the mess that was held in here.

I filled up my bucket with soap and water and stirred my mop in it. I began to clean the floor. Alex sat on the table, leaning back and closing his eyes.

After an hour, I'd cleaned the whole room and not noticed Alex's lack of effort until that point.

"GASKARTH!" I shouted, unsuccessfully waking him up. I walked over and hit him in the stomach with my palm, which made him squirm a bit.

"Leave me alone..." He groaned, swatting my hand away. So he was awake...just ignoring me.

I looked from Alex to my bucket of water and an idea hit me. Bingo.

I dumped the water on him and laughed as he shot up, soaked in dirty water and looking pissed.

"DAMMIT EAKINS!" he growled. I put my hand over my mouth and cracked up. He stared at me for a minute, angered, but then he chuckled a bit, too. "Shut up." He said, smiling.

"I had to do all this cleaning by myself. It was only fair that I did that." I said, picking up our supplies and carrying them back to the principal. After she inspected the cafeteria, we were dismissed.

I walked to my locker and grabbed my books. School wouldn't be out for another 10 minutes, so there weren't any kids swarming around. I saw Alex down the hall, grabbing his things too. I debated waiting for him, but instead I just began to walk to the parking lot.

Halfway to my car I heard him calling after me. "Hey, Eakins!" Alex shouted. I sighed and turned around, clutching my books to my chest. He smiled and jogged to catch up with me, and we walked to my car. I unlocked it and wrenched the old door open, throwing my books and bag into the passenger seat. I leaned over, putting the keys in the ignition. I felt Alex's eyes on me the whole time.

I stood up straight and turned around, my body running into his for the second time today. He had his hands plastered on either side of me, resting his palms on the top of my car. I was trapped between his arms.

"Thanks again. For doing all the cleaning and stuff." Alex murmured. "Even after I called you a bitch and all that..." he trailed off.

I swallowed hard. His face was inches from mine. What if he kissed me again? No...he wouldn't. But he was Alex Gaskarth. It wouldn't be surprising if he did. "N-no problem, Alex." I said, hardly getting the words out. Why was I so nervous?

He smiled his lopsided smile. "See you around," He whispered seductively. He pushed himself upright, put his hands in his pockets, and walked over to his car, getting in and pulling out of the lot.

I stood there, my heart beating out of my chest. I was still calming my nerves when the bell rang. I quickly hopped in the car and began to drive home, but I decided to get some coffee first. My parents wouldn't be home for another two hours anyway, so I drove to the local Starbucks.

I parked my car and got out, walking up to the building. I opened the heavy glass door and warm, coffee scented air rushed out at me. I looked at the menu and ordered a pumpkin spice latte. I stepped off to the side and leaned on the counter, waiting for my beverage to be ready. I took out my cell phone and checked my messages out of boredom. I had one new text message from a number I didn't recognize. It read:

'Hey Eakins, it's Alex. Gaskarth. Jack gave me your number. Don't be mad at him? Text me sometime;)'

I stared at it and shook my head. Damn Jack. Now I couldn't even escape Alex when I left the school. I looked up from my phone, and that's when I saw him.

He had shaggy dark brown hair that was almost black, and it was cut about to the middle of his ears. His eyes were a gorgeous dark blue, and his facial features were hard and manly, yet soft and perfectly curved. He had two silver snakebite rings in his lips and one bridge piercing. My jaw dropped and I quickly turned when he caught me staring.

The lady set my coffee down and I quickly grabbed it, walking to the bar of creamers. I stirred in two cups of creamer and grabbed some napkins. The whole time, I was stealing glimpses of him.

I took a seat and began to take a sip of my coffee. He sat down right in front of me and I didn't see him until I had set the cup back down.

I swallowed, and the piping hot coffee burned my throat going down.

"Fuuuuck!" I yelled, coughing as my throat was being eaten away by the coffee. The guy laughed and tossed his hair out of his eyes, taking a sip from the straw of his raspberry iced tea.

"Careful, it's hot." He winked, his voice that of an angel. I smiled softly.

"I'm Oliver. Oliver Andersen." He smirked, showing me a glimpse of his pearly, straight teeth. He was a dream.

I shook his extended hand. "Tayler. Tayler Eakins." I nodded, breathing a laugh. Oliver took another sip of his tea.

"That's a pretty name." He said, staring at my eyes. I blinked and looked away. "So where do you go to school, Tayler?"

"Dulaney High School." I said.

Oliver nodded. "Cute little place. I go to school on the other side of town. Came up to visit my friend today. I'm on my way to see him right now, actually." He said, looking at his watch. "As a matter of fact, I'd better get going. But first...please. Give me your number." He grinned. I smiled and scribbled my number down, giving him the paper. He took it, threw out his tea, and walked out of the Starbucks. I sighed, finished my own coffee, then started the drive home.

I pulled into my driveway and saw Alex's car in his driveway. I grabbed my things and walked up to my door, unlocking it and walking inside. I shut the door behind me and walked upstairs. I threw my books and bags onto the bed, relieved I didn't have homework.

I walked downstairs and almost had a heart attack when I saw Alex in my living room.

"Jesus!" I shouted, clasping my hand over my heart. "Alex, what the hell?"

"I knocked." He shrugged. "You didn't answer. Your door was unlocked."

"So you've been in here for like twenty seconds?" i asked.

"Basically." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Not cool. You can't just do that." I shook my head. "You scared the shit out of me."

Alex smiled and walked into the kitchen. "I'm thirsty."

He reemerged from the kitchen holding a can of Coke.

"Help yourself," I mumbled sarcastically. He grinned and clicked the can open, bringing it to his lips. I looked away as he swallowed it. I walked over to the TV and was about to sit down on the couch when I felt Alex's hand on my wrist.

He spun me around into him.

_Not again,_ I thought.

He pressed his lips to mine, holding me to him as he pressed his hands to my lower back. My arms were being pushed around him by the firmness of his hold on me.

And for some reason I couldn't think of, I kissed him back.

And I loved every second of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHA**PTER 3:

"Now this keeps moving in the same direction, but I'm a little too spent to care. Cause it's a battlefield until it blows over; keep your friends close and your enemies closer." -Heroes by All Time Low

Alex's arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, pulling my hips into his. We were still standing in the middle of my living room, our lips attached. I opened my eyes and pulled away suddenly.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked, not knowing if I was flattered or pissed at the fact this kept happening. Alex closed the small space between us.

"Kissing you? Because as much as I try to deny it, I'm falling for you." He murmured. I would have melted if it was anyone else. But not if it was Alex. I knew if I let him get to me, he would just rip my heart apart piece by piece in only a matter of time.

I shook my head. "No," I said as he tried to kiss me again. He took a step back, shocked.

"I don't get it. I try to express my feelings for you and you keep pretending there's no connection!" He complained, sounding distressed.

I scoffed. "You don't have any feelings for me. By next week you'll have moved on. I'm giving you a head start." I crossed my arms.

Alex laughed sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "I don't know why I bother to keep coming back for you. Every time I think I've finally proven to you that I've changed, you just shoot me down."

"You haven't changed, Alex! You're still the same, immature, horny ladies man you were five years ago!" I turned away and began to storm upstairs. I heard him follow me up and I spun around when I reached my room. We were across the room from each other.

"I have changed. You just keep denying that there's something between us." He said softly.

"There is nothing-NOTHING!-between us. No connection, no feelings, no nothing." I shouted. He rolled his eyes.

"You just keep getting worse every year." Alex said, turning and going downstairs. I heard the front door open and shut, and just like that, Alex was gone.

I slid down the side of my bed and bit my lip. Alex was right. I always ruined any chance I had with a guy. I looked at my phone, almost begging for it to ring and to see Alex's caller ID pop up. But it never did.

I heard the door open again and I wiped the tears I hadn't realized were falling. My mother shuffled around downstairs for a while, and I waited until she went into her room to make my way downstairs. I took the steps carefully, almost scared to move too fast.

My father was watching TV, drinking a glass of water. I stood in the hallway, watching him. He saw me and waved me over, signaling for me to sit down with him.

"How was your day, princess?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Not the best, actually. I've been having troubles with this guy Al-" I began.

"HEY TAYLER!" My mother called from upstairs. I knew without seeing her that she was taking off her jewelry, changing into sweats, and putting her long blonde hair up into a messy ponytail.

"Yes mom?" I shouted back up to her. My dad chuckled at me and took a sip of his water.

"Remember Alex Gaskarth? From next door? He came up to me asking about you today when I got home! Isn't he a sweetheart? I like that boy." She said loudly as she began her descent down the stairs.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I remember Alex. I see him every day at school."

My mother crossed her arms. "Don't be so negative. He seems like such a nice young man. You should go talk to him."

"I've had enough of him for today, thanks mom." I stood up and stormed out of the room, almost colliding with my sister as I passed the front door.

Kayla shot me a look and resumed on her way to the kitchen. I kept walking to the stairs.

I walked into my room and slammed the door, flopping down on my bed and closing my eyes.

Next thing I knew, my alarm was blaring at me to wake up. I opened my eyes and slammed my fist onto the 'snooze' button. An hour later, my eyes flew open and shot to the clock. 7:00. School started in twenty minutes.

I jumped out of bed and ran to my closet, stripping of my clothes from yesterday and changing into my favorite Blink182 shirt and black shorts. I quickly threw my hair up into a bun and crammed my feet into Vans. I declared myself good enough and grabbed my backpack, flying down the stairs. My mom stood in the kitchen mixing coffee.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I shouted as I ran to the front door. I set my hands on the end table, panicking when I couldn't find my keys that were usually sitting there. My eyes widened as I opened the door and ran outside, seeing the car was missing.

_Kayla._ She must have taken the car today.

I did a facepalm and sighed. There was no way I was getting to school on time now.

"Need a ride today?" I heard him ask. My heartbeat picked up and I turned around, meeting his beautiful dark brown eyes from across the driveway. I wrapped my arms around myself and nodded.

"Uh...yeah," I said, walking over to him. Alex opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in, clutching my backpack to my chest. He shut the door and walked around to the drivers seat, putting the key in the ignition and backing out of his driveway.

"Thanks, Alex." I said softly, keeping my eyes out the windshield.

He didn't say anything, just rested his elbow on the armrest by the window and put the side of head in his hand, keeping his eyes on the road.

We pulled into the school lot and he chose a parking space close to the building that had my first hour class in it. I reached for the door but he clicked the lock button. I looked over to him curiously.

His eyes were still staring out ahead of him, not daring to look my way, as though it would kill him to do so.

"Tayler, why do we do this to each other?" He asked me. I opened my mouth to say something but no words seemed to come out.

After I was silent a full minute he looked over to me, locking eyes with me. I sucked in a deep breath.

"Why do we always fight? Do we really hate each other that much?" He clarified his question.

"I-I..I don't know," I stuttered.

"I felt fucking awful when I left your house yesterday. I wished I hadn't pressured you." He whispered, looking away from me again. I wanted to tell him I was wrong, that there was something here. That he was right, there was something in the back of my head that told me Alex was the one I was falling in love with.

I was going to tell him how I felt.

"But I got to thinking. And you're right. We don't have feelings for each other. What we have is just...my old immaturity. What happend last night shouldn't have happened. I just thought I felt something. I must have been wrong."

I was NOT going to tell him how I felt.

The words came out of his mouth and I felt my heart shatter. I hadn't known how bad it could hurt to have him say that because I thought the emotions weren't there.

I felt a lump in my throat and I nodded quickly, to acknowledge him. I turned and yanked on the door handle repeatedly until he unlocked it. I threw the door open, grabbed my bag, and slammed it shut.

I walked away from him faster than I've ever walked in my life. The bell was going to ring in a little under ten minutes. I turned into the bathroom and into the largest stall. I sat down on the toilet and put my face in my hands, letting my tears fall.

I choked out a sob and cried harder than I had in a while. I checked the time. Four more minutes until class. I opened the stall door and walked up to the mirror, wiping my eyes and fixing my makeup.

I walked out of the bathroom and to my locker, grabbing the books I needed. I quickly walked to my math class, arriving early and sitting down in the very back, getting out my notes and keeping my head down.

The bell I had been dreading finally rang, and I gathered my things, heading for English. I opened the door and stepped inside. I started for my seat from yesterday, but then my eyes fell on Alex, who was sitting in the seat right next to it. I coughed awkwardly and blew past the seat, choosing one in the very back.

The whole hour, Alex kept stealing glances at me. I kept looking away when his eyes met mine. I knew I was making it obvious our conversation earlier was bothering me, but I didn't care.

The bell rang and I stood, grabbing my bag and walking for the door.

I exited the room and stepped into the hallway, leaning against a locker, closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath. I felt someone's hand intertwine with mine.

My eyes opened quickly and Alex's brown ones were there to meet me.

"Tayler..." He whispered. "What's wrong?"

A tear fell down my cheek and I tore my hand away from Alex's to wipe it away violently. He quickly took one of my hands in each of his and put them together. He pressed his forehead to mine.

"Was it me?" He asked quietly. I nodded and sighed.

"I keep thinking I don't feel anything for you. I don't want to, because I know you're going to break my heart, which you did. In the car this morning. I don't know why. But...I feel like there was something here the whole time. I just kept pushing it away when it ached to get through. Like in this hallway yesterday. I wanted so badly to say something to you, but...I was too busy denying that I wanted to say something. I'm just confusing myself and I don't understand why I'm falling for you!" I murmured.

Alex released my hands and used his to cup my face. He leaned down and kissed my lips lightly.

"I'm sorry," He breathed. "I didn't want to fight anymore. I thought by saying that, maybe we could just go back to being normal."

"Fighting IS normal for us. I don't want to be normal anymore if that's what it is." I said lowly.

"Then we won't be normal. We'll be different." He whispered, leaning down and kissing me again.

He released me and began to walk off to his third hour class, holding hands with me and maintaining eye contact as long as possible.

Did that all just really happen? Yes, it had. And I'd never felt more special in my life.

Did I really fall for him? Or was I just wrapped up in the idea of being in love? I hadn't felt a thing until that moment in the hallway yesterday. Maybe that was all it took to set me off?

All I knew was that Alex and I were going to be different, and I was going to enjoy every second of whatever we had.


End file.
